PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between ashley butcher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Arm Strong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). ashley butcher has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

butcher
vs
Strong

183 cm
22
170 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

176 cm
18
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, ashley butcher!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Arm Strong!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
butcher lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Strong fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Strong throws a head kick but butcher moves out of range.

butcher looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Strong is trying to get back to full guard.
Strong moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
butcher preventing the sweep.
butcher is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Strong keeping full guard, as butcher tries to pass.

Strong working for a triangle but butcher defends it easily.
Strong tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
butcher working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
butcher stops Strong from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
butcher scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Strong has his takedown stuffed

and butcher decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Strong's guard.
Strong looks gassed!
Strong is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
butcher landing with the ground and pound.
butcher postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
butcher lands a couple of digs.
Strong being controlled here, momentarily.
Strong working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from butcher.
Strong preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
butcher looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
butcher stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Strong swivels though and keeps the full guard.
butcher connects with a couple of short punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
butcher cracks Strong with a solid left hand.
butcher is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Strong trying to keep a closed guard but butcher is proving a slippery customer.
butcher keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Strong's head.
Strong has momentary wrist control but butcher slips an elbow through the middle.
butcher is working Strong over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
butcher distracts Strong with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
butcher is in close to Strong's body, working some short punches and elbows.

butcher drops back looking for a leg! Strong is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Strong manages to kick butcher off! butcher jumps back into Strong's guard.
Strong being controlled here, momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
butcher trying to control the position from guard on top but Strong is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
butcher scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
butcher postures up and lands a big shot to Strong's brow.
butcher is stalling in the full guard.
butcher won't allow Strong to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

ashley butcher dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Strong closes the distance looking to clinch

and butcher counters with a shoot takedown. Strong fights it but they end up in guard.
butcher is looking to work some ground and pound but Strong has wrist control.
Strong is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst butcher is controlling him.
Strong keeping moving, preventing butcher from controlling successfully.
butcher with a flurry of punches that miss.
butcher is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Strong looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
butcher scoring with punches to the head and body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as butcher accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

butcher changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Strong looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Strong is trying to get back to his feet.
butcher lands some shots froms side control.
Strong tries to bench press butcher off him but butcher keeps the position.
butcher landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Strong is looking for a sweep.
Strong wants to control but butcher postures up.
butcher connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Strong some visible discomfort.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
butcher connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
butcher has a takedown stuffed.

butcher gets the takedown into side control.
butcher has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
butcher throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Strong works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
butcher looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Strong avoiding damage under a succession of punches from butcher.
Strong is on the bottom, trying to hold on to half guard. He's throwing a few small shots here, to keep his opponent honest.
butcher winds up and cracks Strong with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
butcher is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
butcher lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Strong trying to control here.
ashley butcher overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
butcher is nestled in close to Strong, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
butcher trying to control from half guard but Strong is working away.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

butcher scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
butcher throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
butcher is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Strong on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Strong avoiding damage under a succession of punches from butcher.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
butcher working Strong over with strikes.
butcher is keen to just control but Strong is a slippery customer.

Strong actively working from the bottom here.
butcher wants to free his trapped foot but Strong is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Strong tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and butcher counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Strong!
butcher is landing with some decent strikes but Strong is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Strong in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
butcher raining down shots from the mount!
Strong is in a horrible position here. butcher smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

ashley butcher dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

butcher looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
butcher trying to control from half guard but Strong is working away.
Strong is looking to improve his position.
butcher not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Strong trying to control here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Strong is trying to defend against the ground and pound but butcher scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.
butcher is thwarting Strong's attempts to control the position.
butcher scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Strong gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and butcher counters with a takedown into side control.
butcher wants to control but Strong is keeping him busy.
butcher advances nicely into full mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
butcher scoring with strikes but Strong is staying in there.
Strong manages to regain half guard. Good work.
butcher working over Strong with some ground and pound. Strong looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Strong is trying to maintain the position but butcher is very close to passing his half guard.
Strong pushes butcher off looking to stand but butcher dives back in and keeps control.
butcher throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

butcher wants to work for an arm triangle but Strong is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
butcher thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Strong's head.
Strong tries to kick butcher off but butcher keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
butcher takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

butcher darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
butcher thows a huge punch but Strong dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
butcher working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

Strong actively working from the bottom here.
butcher winds up and cracks Strong with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
butcher looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Strong makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Strong.
butcher with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
butcher landing some decent shots from guard.

butcher drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Strong manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now butcher has Strong in his guard.

butcher has his feet on Strong's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
ashley butcher is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Strong throws a half hearted mid kick.

butcher closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
butcher is thwarting Strong's attempts to control the position.
Arm Strong has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
butcher is figuring out what he wants to do next.

And that's the end of the fight!
ashley butcher showed his dominance in that final round.
Well butcher has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... ashley butcher!